The present invention relates to cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a large capacity, roasting oven including a food serving system. In one embodiment the roasting oven includes a wrap-around type heating element for applying heat to the cooking vessel and a top heater element for browning. In an alternative embodiment the top heater element is omitted to simplify manufacturing and to reduce the cost to the consumer.
Electric cooking pots for preparing and serving hot foods are well known to those skilled in the art. Such electric cooking pots typically include a heating element arranged in functional relation underneath the bottom surface of the cooking well for supplying heat. Such cooking wells are often constructed of stainless steel or enameled steel for reasons of durability and sanitation. However, it is known that both stainless steel and enameled steel have relatively low coefficients of heat conductivity as compared with other metals.
This presents a particular problem for cooking vessels of large capacity (i.e. up to 26 quarts). Applying heat only to the bottom surface of such a large capacity cooking vessel, especially when constructed of stainless steel or enameled steel, can result in the upper portion of the cooking vessel being insufficiently heated. Thus, the food in the upper portion of the cooking vessel may become too cool for serving purposes due to the loss of heat in combination with the low rate of heat conductivity and the slow rate at which heat is supplied to the upper portion of the cooking vessel.
The heat distribution problem is compounded in a roasting oven of large capacity and cannot be resolved by simply increasing the power output of the heating element. This is due to the fact that the increased heater output tends to overheat and to cause malfunction of the temperature control components and electronic circuitry, which are typically contained within the oven housing. Thus, the present roasting oven has been developed to solve these problems and other shortcomings of the prior art.